The Unfortunate Twin
by Featherslove
Summary: After dying a banal death, I was reborn as the twin sister of the tragic Earl of Phantomhive himself. As if being born in such an unfortunate time period wasn't bad enough, I now have to deal with the fact that nothing good ever happens in the Phantomhive house. (Includes incest themes; you have been warned.)
1. Prologue 1

**Prologue** **1-** Mom, I'm here

Death is so strange isn't it? You sometimes don't even know it's coming. The last thing that I remember is sitting in a bus. I don't think I remembered even how it happened. All I remembered was that time slowed down and stood still for a moment. Then there was a blinding light. After that, there was nothing.

My last thoughts before dying were a mix of, "Damn it, if I knew I was going to die, I would have been nice and walked the dog today" and "I wish I had slept with that guy when I had the chance, and not die a fucking virgin." For some reason, these were the things I urgently wanted to go back and change.

Then everything was dark. I experienced absolute nothingness. It wasn't something I could describe using words. After all, how can I convey, to my living readers, the absence of all sensation? I couldn't even think, or even experience the passage of time. It was truly nothing.

After a point, suddenly, my ability to think was returned to me. I had no body, but I could think so I thought a lot. Was it time for judgment? Was god real? Was he going to read out all my sins from a long piece of parchment? I had sinned a lot, from constantly picking on my younger siblings, to neglecting Dusty who was only ever nice to me (and I did not walk him, damn it.) Could I still be pardoned?

Or maybe my atheist cousin was right and there was no god. That would be very very sad, but I would prefer that to going to hell for all eternity. Maybe I may even be reincarnated like my weird Buddhist classmate told me I would be. It would be nice if I could be human again.

So, I promised to whoever was listening, "If I get another chance, I will fix everything so please don't send me to hell!"

And then, I suddenly got a response, "Well then it is your lucky day. I have a very special project in mind for you."

I was shocked into silence when I realized my mental space was invaded. It felt very uncomfortable, but it only lasted a fraction of a second. After that it was gone.

I began to hear certain things, like the sound of constant drumming, and the sound of rushing water. It never stopped. I was still blind as a bat (but bats aren't blind are they?) so I couldn't see anything. Neither could I move. I felt snuggly held close in a tight space. Once I got used to it, the sounds became kind of soothing. So I listened to it all the while I lived, trying not to go insane. I kept drifting in and out of a sleep, which was more like losing consciousness. As time passed (excruciatingly slowly) I started hearing more and more things, like the sound of a woman talking. I couldn't make out what she was saying, but I knew for sure she was speaking to me. But it was weird, she sounded so far away.

As more time passed, I began to understand, the woman was indeed speaking English, except she sounded so stiff and proper, like she was a character in those British movies set in the past. She sounded far more formal than any English woman I knew. Sometimes I heard her talk to other people, their voices were far more muffled than hers, and I never understood them. But when she spoke directly to me, she would say things like, "My sweet little angel" and "I love you so much"

I couldn't ignore the obvious connection I made, whenever the woman called me, "my baby." I supposed I really was her baby, except I couldn't move or cry. I hadn't figured out that part yet. And then one day, I heard the lady say, "you're coming out soon, my bundle of joy!" I found it a bit hard to believe I was in some woman's womb. I didn't know babies could hear so well.

Then, the "coming out" happened. It was incredibly painful. Plus, during the whole time, I heard the woman screaming so that was fun. I knew she was in labour, but I really wanted to scream at her to shut up. There were women around her, telling her to push. There were a lot of voices, some excited, some panicked. How many people did one woman need to give birth anyway? But I knew, the moment of coming out was close, and it was nearing. I felt strong muscles contract. I thought the force was going to break my skull. Thankfully it didn't. And then, little by little, my head slowly came out. I tried very hard to push away the thought that I was indeed, experiencing another woman's vagina. I almost wanted to cry.

And I did cry. The moment my head came out. I couldn't stop it from happening. I experienced more and more pushing until I finally plopped out.

"M'lady," a woman said as she held me, "it's a girl."

Then, I heard someone say, "Well let's hope the other one is a boy, or the master will be displeased."

I was handled by, I don't know how many pair of hands, cleaning me with warm water, the whole time while I wailed, trying to listen for another baby. According to the instructions of the women to push more, it seemed like another one was on the way.

Then, all of a sudden I heard it. Finally, the mother's painful vocalizations ended.

"Look, this one is a boy. You have indeed been blessed."

I scoffed inward at the differences in treatment that my brother and I received. I sure hoped it wasn't going to be a permanent thing. But something told me it was going to be that way.

I was finally placed in the bed next to the mother, whose face I couldn't bring into focus, regardless of how hard I tried. My vision was blurred. Soon enough, the still crying brother was placed next to me. I turned my head to look at him, but I couldn't see him either, which was too bad really.

Through the commotions of people bustling about, the boy and I cried non stop. I couldn't stop myself from crying. It was almost like my body did the crying on its own. I was so thankful being reborn, because now it meant, I could try living my life as a less shitty human. However, I had no idea what kind of a mess I had gotten myself into.

I will tell you more next time.

 **A/N:** I'm trying to make this as historically accurate as possible and I have done A TON of research. This is my first fanfic ever, so I hope you like it.


	2. Prologue 2

**Prologue** **2 - Sky and Star**

Time moves at a snail's pace when you're an infant lying in a crib all day. While it was true that I spent two thirds of the day sleeping, so it wasn't that bad, maybe. Okay, who am I kidding? It was mind numbing boredom I was experiencing. What did babies do to entertain themselves, other than crying and (the horror!) breast feeding?

I couldn't speak or gesture, so for any type of discomfort, I had no choice but to cry. Everyone hated crying infants, and so people attended to me quickly when I was crying. But the people who ran to our aid weren't a stress consumed mother or an awkward father. We had, not one, not two, but three servants to take care of us. The parental figures were too important to do menial jobs like child rearing, I supposed. I always thought rich people were weird, but now I was wondering which rich family I was born into.

The three people who basically raised me were two maids and a nanny. The maids brought fresh clothes and sheets for us, and disposed off dirty cloth diapers. They also stood around the crib ooh-ing and aah-ing at us like we were cat videos on the internet. Sometimes something we did was so heartwarming, the three would aww in unison. There were many times I wanted to yell at them to go away.

The nanny did everything else. She lived in the nursery with us, and woke up at any time during the night whenever we cried. So she averaged about three to four hours of sleep per night, since everyone knew that babies were secretly evil sleep destroying machines. Beloved brother was no exception. I cried whenever he did, because I didn't want to be the weird baby who didn't cry. For some reason, I was convinced the people here wouldn't hesitate to perform an exorcism on me if they thought I needed it.

The weirdest part, I guessed, was that the servants always referred to us as, "the little master" and "the little lady." ("The little master needs fresh napkins!") I thought it was extremely funny, and I would have laughed, if I could have. It was like my baby body couldn't do anything. Of all the things, I hated most was the lack of vision. Either I was blind, or babies had shitty vision. And since no one seemed to be freaking out about how the young lady was blind, I assumed the latter.

As a fully functioning adult brain trapped in a few days old infant's body, I cursed whoever it was in the Department of Reincarnation that did this to me. They forgot to wipe out my cognitive abilities before sending me here and they deserved to be fired for that. Babies are supposed to be dumb. But here I was, experiencing agonizing boredom. I was almost looking forward to the breast feeding experience. Almost.

I tried hard to remember my old life, any details but I couldn't. I couldn't remember my name or how old I was. I couldn't even remember how I died. There was a grieving family out there somewhere all the while I was stuck in this infant body.

I spent about a month like this, until what I supposed was a baptism occurred. I was dressed up in what felt like silk and way too much clothing to put on an infant. We were taken somewhere outside, I supposed maybe to a church. (How should I know? I barely saw anything.) It was there I learnt our names for the first time. There were a whole bunch of people there and almost everyone spoke to us in baby voice. It was nauseating.

Finally, we were handed to who I assumed was the clergymen. I was given first and brother second. Each time the man called out "Will the sponsors, please step forward?" (I later learned that sponsors were godparents, of which I had many)

"What is the child's intended name?"

"Etoile Phantomhive." One of the sponsors replied.

"I hereby christen this child, Etoile Phantomhive."

The same was repeated for my brother, Ciel Phantomhive. I later learned from some guests at the after party (yes, because rich people) that Ciel was French for 'sky' and Etoile for 'star.' Thanks so much, mom and dad. I'm going to get picked on at school for this. For this, I was going to cry extra hard.

 **A/N** Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring. I was trying to introduce their lives a little, and wanted to officially introduce the characters. They will be a bit older in the next chapter.


	3. Prologue 3

**Prologue** **3 - Well Kept Secrets**

Lord Edward Midford was a beautiful blond boy, pale skinned, wide eyed and full of innocence as most preteens tend to be. I couldn't tell how old he was, but I guessed that he was seven-ish maybe. Even so, he seemed like the kind that took himself too seriously. He was already trying his best to act all grown up, which is only funny when you're pint sized. Not that I'm one to talk. He was watching me keenly while his mother spoke to my father in the visiting area.

They were, much to my dismay, discussing my future marriage to this boy. This had to be all kinds of illegal, I thought to myself. I wish I could tell them in stern terms that I absolutely despised their archaic customs, but I was still lacking in vocalizations. I was walking now, like a drunk person. Though my vocabulary was far more advanced than my brother's, I really did not want to risk blowing my cover.

Oh and did I mention that Lord Midford was my first cousin? Fucking great. I hated my life.

Aunt/Future mother in law Francis suddenly took notice of me, "Look Vincent, she's looking at us so strangely."

Father dearest replied, "I know, it's almost like she understands what we're saying."

I froze. (Has my cover been blown?)

"I supposed she's very intelligent. More so than her brother."

"Perhaps a little too intelligent, don't you think?"

"Nonsense. A lady has to have her wits about her. I would only be happy if my Eddie takes an intelligent woman as his bride."

"Aren't intelligent women quite dull? Edward would soon get bored of her."

I turned away and walked over to my brother, as naturally and baby like as I could. He was chewing the disproportionally small head of a creepy doll. When I approached, he gave me a challenging look, almost as if to say, "This is mine!" I decided to tease him a bit. I bent down to take it from him, but he kept moving the doll out of my reach and my poor motor skills couldn't keep up.

I was eavesdropping on the conversation that was happening.

"Sometimes," Father dearest continued to speak, "I wish the twins could switch bodies."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Rachel's sister was here, and she told me that Etoile is a lot more intelligent than would seem at first glance. She's also not nearly as shy Ciel. I think she would be better suited to be my successor."

"But Vincent, they are just babies. Wait till they grow older. For all we know, they could end up being the opposite of how they are now."

"Really? I quite clearly remember you being one stubborn child."

Meanwhile, Eddie was watching me trying to get the doll and decided to intervene.

"Do you want the doll?" He snatched it from the boy's hands and handed it to me triumphantly. This caused the little brother to start crying. This, in turn, cut short the adults' conversation. I pouted, I wanted to eavesdrop more.

"Perhaps we should move the children back to the nursery." the father figure suggested.

"Yes, it's getting late, and we must leave before it gets dark."

On cue, the nanny came to pick us up. As I was being carried away, I heard the two of them continue their conversation.

"I say Francis, how about we tie the double knot?"

"You mean... Ciel and Elizabeth?"

And then the nursery doors closed behind me and I couldn't hear it anymore. Well, it looked like dear Ciel wasn't safe either. And that was the first time I had heard someone say that intelligent people are dull. Isn't intelligent the opposite of dull? This chapter in my life only taught me that I should feign dumb even more.

I looked over at Ciel, who was still crying. Poor kid didn't know they were planning his wedding also, to Edward's sister. She is only a year or so older than us. The poor girl didn't know it either. The thought of marrying my first cousin... It made me want to gag.

The two of us were placed in our cribs.

"Now, now," the nanny said firmly to Ciel, "boys shouldn't cry like that. What will people think?"

I screamed internally. She should just let the baby cry! What was it with these weird customs? Why was I engaged to my cousin? Why was Ciel wearing a dress? Oh yes, any baby in a dress is cute, but Ciel and I were dressed identically. We wore the same type of blue dress, with a dark ribbon around the waist, and even a flower hat. Even our own parents couldn't tell us apart half the time.

Ciel and I looked identical to one another. We had the same dark hair and same blue eyes. He was a fussy little boy, throwing tantrums and crying when he didn't get what he wanted. I wasn't being nearly as difficult as he was, mostly because throwing tantrums takes a lot of emotional energy and I just didn't feel vested enough to care about trivial things like dolls, baby food and bath/nap times. But from that day forth, I started acting as baby like as I could. I constantly fought with Ciel, who was possessive over everything ever. I also refused food and bath times, I didn't nap peacefully. I made sure to cry as loud as I can.

Then, something strange happened. About two weeks later, our father figure came into the room. He played with us for a bit, until the nanny left the room for a moment. I was a bit skeptical, since that wasn't his usual visiting time.

Once the three of us were alone in the room, he picked me up. He looked me straight in the eye and said, "I know you're playing some kind of game here."

He made a deliberate pause, and I struggled to keep a dumb baby face. But I think he was able to see right through my act.

"There's no use in playing dumb. I know you understand me, and what I'm saying. You started being difficult after the conversation I had with your aunt Francis, didn't you? What are you trying to hide? Are you a witch pretending to be an innocent child?"

I hadn't realized what a scary, intelligent man Vincent Phantomhive was. He held my gaze with his deep blue eyes.

"No..." he mused, "you have always been like this. Can you speak? If so, I demand you speak to me."

I opened my mouth and started wailing. This move was, in hind sight, even more stupid. All it did was confirm the man's suspicions. Fortunately, before he had a chance to say anything, the nanny came running in. ("I must attend to the young lady at once!")

Vincent handed me back to the nanny, who began trying to calm me down.

"You," he turned back as he was just about to leave, "are a true Phantomhive. An excellent heir."

Then he closed the door. The nanny looked at me, "That was rather odd. Did you do something impressive?" She gasped, "Perhaps, you spoke your first word?" Then she started rambling on and on about how such sweet children we both were.

True, I had managed to dodge a bullet right there. But now, Vincent was on to me, and I had to be even more careful.

 **A/N:** I'm not sure if you guys know this or not, but baby boys back then were unbreeched. Look it up, it's quite funny.


	4. Prologue 4

**Prologue** **4 - No Title**

"Look how precious they are!" My mother, Rachel Phantomhive, had managed to dress up not only Ciel and I, but also Elizabeth Midford in similar sailor style dresses. She even had a small ship prop ready for us to pose in.

"Look at the camera, please" The camera man said. The camera was a huge block of technology that the servants eyed with wonder. They had prepared the ball room for the three of us to take pictures. The two of us sat on either sides of Elizabeth, who was much bigger than us and a lot more dextrous. And she would not stop prattling on and on. It wore out, not just me, but Ciel also. He looked very annoyed with her. I would have laughed if I hadn't felt some kind of pity for the betrothed couple.

Elizabeth was a pretty child, and she was a happy one also. She had blonde hair, bright green eyes and skin like a porcelain doll. She was vibrant and full of energy. This was in stark contrast to us, with Ciel being annoyed, and me being bored out of my fucking mind.

Rachel either didn't care or notice. She was too nice of a woman, she had blond hair also, but her colour was a lot more muted. She looked sickly and frail. She took a long time to recover from giving birth to us. When she spent time with us, she seemed like she couldn't keep up with our energy. I hoped sincerely that I hadn't inherited her bad health, but seeing as how much inbreeding was going on, I doubted if I was safe.

"Let's take one with just Lizzy and Ciel? Won't it be funny to look at after they have been wed?"

"That's alright, I suppose," replied Aunt Francis.

And so I was removed from the little ship and they took the picture of the pair. Then Rachel insisted that she had to now take a picture of me with Edward. He was a little too big for the tiny ship, but they made him squeeze in somehow. Then Rachel tried to persuade me to give my fiance a kiss on the cheek, which I vehemently opposed. So they had to settle for having Edward kiss me instead. I got a kiss from Elizabeth also, which I thought was because she mistook me for Ciel.

Such instances where we got dressed up like that and posed for pictures were called "vignettes" and us children were not the only ones who dressed up. Sometimes Rachel and Vincent would also throw on costumes, much to my embarassment. I supposed people had no other way of entertaining themselves, seeing as any technology I remembered from my past life did not exist here.

"What shall we do next?" Aunt Francis asked.

"I had some angel costumes prepared for the children."

"How wonderful. I can't wait to see all of them dressed as pretty angels."

I blanched at the thought of being dressed up again. Ciel seemed to sense my apprehension, and we both started crying. This also made Lizzy cry, which thankfully made the adults reconsider their decisions.

We were seated in the visiting room, where Lizzy was showing off her porcelain doll to me. I didn't know what it was with Ciel, but he seemed to really like dolls. I was pretending to be interested in the conversation while eavesdropping on the adults. First they talked about boring gossip. Apparently some young lady ran away with some guy and they were eagerly discussing the details.

"It's all about education, my dear," said Aunt Francis, "Educated girls don't do those kinds of things."

"I doubt that's always the case, Francis" Rachel replied, "Plenty of educated people have made mistakes before."

"Would you call something like that a mistake? She is a sinner, I tell you. It's because the parents aren't strict enough. I've been very firm over Edward and I'm delighted with the way he's turning out to be. You, my dear, are too linient with the children."

"Actually, I'm starting to believe that I'm a bad mother. Vincent told me that he thinks Ettie is an extraordinary genius, and I haven't even noticed it."

"Don't even think such a thing! I think Vincent is exaggerating for effect. Ettie hasn't done anything to show that she's that kind of a genius. She hasn't been speaking early, or doing any other extraordinary feats of intellect."

"Vincent believes she's deceiving us. He said, to quote his own words, "She's playing us for a fool.""

"My! Don't tell me he detests his own child?"

"No, he's actually quite pleased. He's quite proud of her. Now, I do agree she's a mature child, but I don't think it would be a good idea to educate her in the same way as Ciel. She is a young lady after all."

"Vincent wants to give Ciel and Ettie the same kind of education? Why on earth?!"

"Well, he said something which, I'm not sure if I can share with you."

"Come on my dear! I am Vincent's sister, and yours also. Please do tell me whatever it is."

Rachel hesitated for a moment, "Al right, but you have to keep this a secret."

I had my ears pricked in apprehension, but the moment was ruined when Ciel started crying, as if on cue. We got moved back to the nursery, much to my dismay. I wanted to know what plans they had for me. But now the moment was ruined. The little crib had turned into a prison. I hated being there. The only good thing that happened, was that I had started to like Ciel.

That night, after the lights went down, the two of us were put in bed, Ciel surprised me. He moved over close to me and kissed my cheek. It was a sweet and tender moment, and I began to think to myself how great it felt to be alive. I was stuck in a crib, in an infants body, but I was alive. I remembered the nothingness of death, and I prefered living so much more. It felt so great, that I had wished I could live forever.

Little did I know, my wish was heard, and some god decided it would be a good idea to grant it.

 **A/N:** This will be the conclusion of the prologue. I will be shifting to the main story and the rest of their childhood will be told in flashbacks. Thank you so much for the positive reviews, and for following this story. I will try to bring updates as quickly as possible.


	5. Chapter 1

**A Day in this life**

I pulled my legs closer to my chest. I was huddled up in the darkness, wishing for my life to end. "God, please" I whispered in my mind, "let this suffering and misery end." I was alone with just the sound of my breath and my rapidly beating heart."

Then, I heard voices outside.

"You think she could be in here?"

"I don't know... we must find her at any rate, before we run out of time."

"Oh this is all my fault... I was supposed to be watching her..."

I held my breath and closed my eyes. I heard the footsteps coming closer and closer. I could feel my heart beating faster and harder. I felt like a tiny rabbit caught in a corner. I had no way out.

My eyes were blinded by light as the door swung open.

"Ah, there you are, young lady. What are you doing hiding in the kitchen pantry?"

I blinked at him, unable to answer.

"Baldroy! She's indecent! I haven't finished dressing her."

"Right!" Baldroy, the "cook" turned his head away. I took that as my chance and sprung to my feet. I pushed him to the side and bolted out the pantry door.

"Milady!" May-Rin, the "maid," called out as she held up a corset, "Please let me finish!"

I ran out the kitchen, down the hallway. No way was I letting that clumsy maid put that corset on me. Such painful traditions. Where's feminism when you need it?

I ran out the door into the garden where Finnian the "gardener" stared wide eyed at me as I ran past him.

"Stop her, Finny!" Baldroy called out.

"B-but she's not dressed!"

I was going to make a run for the gate until, I saw, the tall black figure of the Phantomhive butler smiling at me. Instantly, I felt a chill run down my spine. I froze in my tracks, giving May-Rin the chance to tackle me from behind. I screamed like a banshee.

"Milady, if you're not ready for breakfast, the master will punish us."

"I'm not putting that thing on" I said. "You can tell that to your master."

"Must we do this every morning?" When I heard the voice, I stopped moving. I turned around to see my dear brother standing, with an expression that clearly said 'I'm so tired of you people.'

A few minutes later, I was dressed and sitting next to Ciel at the breakfast table. He insisted on me joining him for breakfast every morning. I don't know why, he barely acknowledged my existance. He just sat there, completely engrossed in his English muffins, not even looking at me. If I said anything to him, he may just respond with a few words. Sometimes he would even pretend like he didn't hear me at all.

I grumbled at my food.

"Why don't you just behave like a normal lady?" He put down his fork. The putting down of the fork was a gesture that meant he was more annoyed than usual.

"I hate my life!" I slammed my fist on the table.

"Why? I work so hard for you everyday! What more do you want from me?"

I instantly realized the mistake of what I had just said.

"I hate wearing a corset!" I tried to switch it to a more light hearted topic.

He sighed. "There's something weighing on your mind, I know it." He paused as if waiting for me to say something. Then he continued, "I have some important work to do today. If I'm interrupted _in any way_ , I will punish you."

"Oh gee," I said, "what are you going to do? Stare angrily at me?"

"I will flog you."

I was taken aback by this twelve year old boy threatening me with domestic violence. As if to break the seriousness of what he had just said, he added, "Of course, I would rather not have to do that. You are after all, my sister." Then he mumbled something under his breath that I didn't hear.

The dark clad butler was watching us eat. I made a conscious effort not to look at him. I knew he would be the end of me.

 **Note: Sorry, I had gone on hiatus. My house was damaged in a natural disaster and I had to worry about a hundred other things. I'm back, and officially publishing again. I appreciate all the love I get, thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 2

**Etoile's POV - Rat Traps**

It was a foggy British morning and I sat at the parlour doing my embroidery, (which I _had to_ , according to Ciel) while simultaneously dying of boredom. In the distance, I could hear the servants trying to catch rats or something. It sounded like the rats were winning. Meanwhile dear brother was in his secret room having a meeting with some adults. He was probably more bored than I was.

Once I realized I couldn't do this dreadful task any longer, I decided to go mess with the servants. I stepped in the hall and right into a mousetrap.

Thankfully, my shoes were pretty hard, so it didn't hurt too much.

"What the hell?!" I let out.

"Oh heavens no! I'm so sorry" the Mey-Rin appeared, apologizing profusely.

"You shouldn't say that word, Milady" Finny instructed me.

"You're trying to catch rats?" I asked.

"Yes," Bard said, "But we're not having too much luck."

"Can I help?" I asked, finding a way to relieve my boredom.

The trio seemed taken aback by the very idea. (Not old Mr. Tanaka though. He seemed like he was enjoying all this.)

"No, a lady like you? Catching rats?" Bard said.

"B-But that's a servant's job" Mey-Rin stammered.

"You should worry about more important things." Finny said.

"Very well, then" I paused for a moment before I added, "I'll launch an independent mission to catch the rats. I'll do it before you three do!" I turned and left quickly before they could stop me.

I went quickly to my room to plan a course of action. How do I catch rats? I racked my brain for some knowledge of my previous life, but it wasn't much use. I had forgotten most of it.

I looked around the room and found an empty bird cage. (Patric the finch passed away last year, RIP Patric). I picked it up and decided to use that. With the help of some lace and a few hair pins, I was able to make a trap.

"Now I just have to show the servants."

I walked around the hallway, looking for a good place to put the trap.

As swiftly as a gust of air blows on the curtains, the trap was taken from my hands.

"My, young lady" the voice sent shivers up my spine, "what is this?"

I drew a deep breath before turning to face the smiling butler, the Butler From Hell.

"It's a rat trap. Now give it back."

"Oh this is the old finch cage isn't it?" he held it out of my grasp, "A young lady like you shouldn't be having such dangerous items."

I tried to pry the item from his hands. "It's not dangerous! It's just a small trap."

"Well, I would have to examine this carefully before I can determine that." It was very clear that he was having fun messing with me.

I groaned. "Why are you like this?!"

"I'm simply following the young master's orders. A young lady of the Phantomhive house should not be running around with the servants, trying to catch rats. You know your schedule. Now then," he paused as he started to walk ahead, "since you seem to have so much free time, I'm assuming you're done with your embroidery. I'll have to take a look at it."

"Erm..." I had to do the awkward walk/run thing to catch up with him.

"Do speak up." He seemed slightly annoyed.

"It's not quite done."

His eyes changed expression ever so slightly. "My, my... that will just not do now, will it?" His tall imposing stature and formal attire were, I had to admit, quite intimidating. Not to mention, he wore his mask almost flawlessly.

Just then, a door opened and the servants stumbled out raising all hell. The rats evaded their capture. They halted when they saw Sebastian and I standing in the hallway.

"W-we're just trying to-" Bard started to speak but Sebastian cut him off.

"Catch rats, is it? Are you the ones who put up the young lady to this?"

The servants denied in unison.

"No, it was me." I replied, "It was my idea, so leave them out of it."

When we heard his footsteps, all of us turned to face the head of the house, Ciel Phantomhive, approaching us.

"Sebastian," he ordered, "There has been a change of plans. I expect you to escort Duke Randall by carriage to his mansion." Then his gaze fell on me and his frown deepened.

"Understood," the Butler responded, "Once I finish the preparations for the carriage, I'll bring you some tea. Would you like to have tea with the young lady?"

"I'm assuming she's done with her morning tasks?"

"I'm afraid not, young master."

"Well, then make sure she does. I was planning on having tea alone but I've changed my mind."

I observed the two of them talking about me as if I'm not in their presence at all.

"Very well then, I'll set up preparations for tea in the garden." I watched the young master turn and walk back down the hall. He turned the corner and disappeared.

"Now then," the smiling butler said to me, "I expect it to be completed by the time tea is served. If not, you will be punished by having to write a letter of apology to the master."

I felt so defeated. I walked back into the parlour and picked up the embroidery. I mumbled to myself, "I just want to go back."

The sweet smell of chemicals filled my nostrils and I collapsed to the floor.

 **Ciel's POV - A Game of Rats**

"Sebastian," I was starting to grow annoyed, "Where is Ettie? Why is she not here already?"

"It's not like her to be late for tea," Sebastian replied as he placed the tea tray on the table. I focused intensely on it, trying to find some flaw. Everything was perfect, from the wrinkle-free tablecloth to the floral tea set. For some reason, I felt more annoyed.

"Would you like me to go fetch her?"

"Yes, but if I have to wait more than five minutes..." I left that sentence hang in the air.

"Yes of course, milord" he said as he walked away.

Half a minute hadn't passed before he returned. "I'm afraid the young lady is not in the manor anymore."

"Not in the manor?" My heart skipped a beat, "You mean to say she's run away?"

"It appears she has been kidnapped." He produced a note from his coat pocket and proceeded to read it out loud. "To the Queen's watchdog. Etoile Phantomhive is in our custody. If you wish to get her back, do as we say. Wait for a phone call at 6 o' clock with further instructions."

"Sebastian," I said, "make sure I don't receive that call."

He caught on to what I meant by that, "Yes, milord."

"I need her back here, safe and alive. If she suffers more than just minor injuries I'm going to be very displeased."

Maintaining my non chalant expression was difficult. As the butler left, I wondered if he had been able to sense my fear. I took a deep breath. Somehow I couldn't blame anyone but myself for this. It would have been one thing if it was me, but to target a little lady... those cowardly bastards!

I resisted the temptation to pray. Someone, some supernatural force brought her back from the dead once. I wasn't counting on it to happen again. I resolved to be more pleasant to her when she got back.

 **Ettie's POV**

Was I hung over again? Is today a Saturday? If so, I'm definitely hung over. That explains the headache and nausea. I should have taken Jack's advice and just drank a ton of water. It makes him pee a ton of times at night but apparently he wakes up without a hangover. Ah, how I miss Jack. Maybe I should give him a call. No, that's too weird. I'll send him a text. I reached for my cell phone on the floor and-

Who was Jack and why did I want to text him? Wait... text?

"What on earth..." I mumbled as my eyes focused on my bound wrists. I tried to get up but my ankles were bound too.

I rolled over, on the hardwood floor to face the ceiling. I had no idea where I was. I felt panic grip my heart, when I saw a strange man approach me.

"Oh look, she's awake." He spoke in a slow voice as he crouched down near me. The scent of cigar smoke filled my nostrils. I hated it. "Don't worry, dear lady. We're not going to do anything to you... yet."

I would have said something back, maybe even quipped back with a one liner if I wasn't too frozen with fear.

"Aww..." the man said, "You poor thing... you're trembling." Then he laughed as he stood up and spoke to someone outside the room I was in, in a language I didn't understand. As soon as he was out of sight, I struggled against my restraints, but it was no use. Because of my corset, I found myself too inflexible and too physically weak to do anything. A few minutes of struggling made me feel winded.

A sudden thought popped into my head.

 _Where is Ciel?_

Have they got him too? I craned my neck to look around, but I was all alone in the room.

"Ciel...?" I nervously called out, "Are you there?" I got no response. I started to sink into a feeling of despair, the kind that I had felt on that fateful night, the night where the Phantomhive family was split in such a cruel way. I could picture Ciel's perfect poker face and his one bored eye. His face seemed to permanently say, "I don't have time for this."

But he wasn't always like that... He had changed. Then a strange thought struck me. Had _I_ changed too? How had I changed? It's strange I was thinking these things while I was bound on some stranger's floor.

My thoughts drifted to the black coat tails and white gloves of the Phantomhive butler. His dark hair and his cunning smile, all masking a terrifying something that was beyond human comprehension. How did Ciel manage to find peace in that house? All were questions that intrigued me.

I closed my eyes tight and made a prayer.

 _Sebastian, please come save me._

 **A/N: As per feedback from one of my readers, I have decided to make the chapters longer. Do send me feedback. It helps me know what to change and what to keep doing. :)**


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